SOME HIGH DRIVE BUSINESS OWNERS ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA BEING SOLD IN ORLANDO'S FAMILY FRIENDLY TOURIST DISTRICT. THIS NOVEMBER VOTERS WILL GET THE CHANCE TO DECIDE IF MEDICAL MARIJUANA WILL BE LEGAL IN FLORIDA BUT THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT DOESN'T SAY WHERE IT WOULD BE SOLD. SOME NOW WORRY IT COULD BE SOLD DOWN THE STREET FROM THE SCHOOL, DAY CARE OR THEME PARKS. ERIC SANDOVAL INVESTIGATES. WITH UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, SEA WORLD AND THE COUNTRY'S SECOND LARGEST CONVENTION CENTER, INTERNATIONAL DRIVE ATTRACTS MILLIONS OF VISITORS EACH YEAR. BUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU ADDED MEDICAL MARIJUANA TO THE MIX? IT WOULD DESTROY THE AREA. AT LEAST THAT'S WHAT RODIA THOMPSON THINKS WOULD HAPPEN. HER FAMILY OWNS SHERRAZ GRILL. SHE WORRIED ABOUT POT BEING SOLD IN THE I DRIVE DISTRICT. I DON'T THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. IT IS A LOT OF PEOPLE ACTUALLY ABUSE IT. OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS WERE OPEN TO THE POSSIBILITY OF SELLING MEDICAL MARIJUANA ON I DRIVE. EVEN CONSIDERED CONVERTING THEIR CURRENT I DRIVE SHOP INTO A MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARY. NOBODY IN THAT CAMP FELT COMFORTABLE GOING ON CAMERA THOUGH. TOURISTS TOLD US THERE'S ALREADY ILLEGAL POT IN TOWN. WE WERE STANDING AT ONE OF THE BUS STOPS, THERE WAS TOBACCO IN LIP WEED BAGGIES ALL OVER. THEY THINK LEGALIZING MEDICAL MARIJUANA MEANS MORE TOURISTS WOULD COME. WELL, LIKE PEOPLE WHO SMOKE POT, THEY WILL WANT TO COME TO PLACES WHERE THEY CAN GET IT. PEOPLE WOULD ENJOY IT A LOT BETTER. INSTEAD OF HIDING IT. THAT'S WHAT FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL PAM BONDI IS AFRAID IT. THE AMENDMENT MAKING IT TOO EASY TO GET MARIJUANA IN FLORIDA. DOCTORS COULD PRESCRIBE POT TO PATIENTS WHO HAVE TROUBLE SLEEPING BECAUSE IT DOES NOT LIMIT CONDITIONS TO DEBILITATING DISEASES. BUT ORLANDO STATE REPRESENTATIVE JOE SAUNDERS BELIEVES MEDICAL MARIJUANA WILL BE TIGHTLY REGULATED AND WILL HELP THE TRULY SICK PEOPLE WHO NEED IT. HE FILED A BILL THAT WOULD LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA BY OCTOBER BEFORE THE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT EVEN GOES UP FOR A BIT. HIS BILL LEAVES IT UP TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO DECIDE WHERE MEDICAL MARIJUANA COULD BE SOLD. IF ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DECIDED IF IT MADE SENSE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TOURISTS COMMUNITY HAS ACCESS TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA BECAUSE SOME OF THEM ARE SICK ENOUGH THAT THEY NEED IT, MAYBE THEY WILL DECIDE THAT I DRIVE IS THE RIGHT SPOT FOR IT. OR THEY MAY DECIDE IT IS NOT AT ALL RIGHT FOR OUR TOURIST ECONOMY AND IT SHOULD BE OVER MEDICAL CITY. SO FAR, ORANGE COUNTY HAS NOT TAKEN STEPS TO REGULATE WHERE MEDICAL MARIJUANA COULD BE SOLD. COCOA BEACH HAS ALREADY VOTED TO WORK ON IT. I PERSONALLY HAVE BEEN IN VENICE BEACH, CALIFORNIA, I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT WE WANT IN COCOA BEACH. THEY ARE TRYING TO WALK BACK A LOT OF THAT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING IN PLACE AHEAD OF TIME. THERE'S OTHER PLACES IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE MEDICAL MARIJUANA THAT ARE DOING IT RIGHT AND I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE DO IT RIGHT. WE REACHED OUT TO ORANGE COUNTIES AND VISIT ORLANDO TO SEE WHERE THEY STOOD ON THE ISSUE? BOTH OF THEM TOLD US IT'S TOO SOON TO COMMENT. THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NEVER GOT BACK TO US AT ALL. BACK TO YOU. THE BILL LAWMAKERS ARE CONSIDERED THIS YEAR IS NAMED AFTER A FLORIDA WOMAN WHO SUFFERS FROM ALS. WE HAVE GOT ALL THE DETAILS ON WHAT AND WOULDN'T BE ALLOWED ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE. JUST LIKE US.

ORLANDO, Fla. -

Could medical marijuana soon be sold on Orlando's International Drive?

Quick Clicks

That's because, while the proposed amendment says nothing about restricting the location where medical marijuana could be sold, it also says nothing about local government limiting its location, lawyers familiar with the legislation told Local 6.

Some business owners in the I-Drive area told Local 6 they'd consider converting their shop into a medical marijuana dispensary. They didn't want to talk on camera, but those opposed to marijuana on I-Drive, did.

"It will destroy the area," said Radia Thompson, of Shiraz Grill near the Orange County Convention Center. "I just don't thinks it's a good idea. It's just -- people, they abuse it."

Tourists told us there's already illegal pot in town.

"We were sitting at one of the bus stops and there was tobacco and little weed baggies all over," a spring breaker visiting Orlando from Canada said, adding that she believed medical marijuana being sold on I-Drive would boost tourism.

"People who smoke pot, they're gonna want to come to places where they can get it," she said.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is afraid the proposed constitutional amendment will make it too easy for people to get marijuana in Florida. She told the Florida Supreme Court a doctor could prescribe medical marijuana to someone who has trouble sleeping, because the language "does not limit 'conditions' to 'debilitating diseases.'"

But Rep. Joe Saunders, D-Orlando, believes medical marijuana will be tightly regulated and help truly sick people who need it. He feels so strongly about such Floridians having access to medical marijuana, he filed the Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act, a bill which would legalize medical marijuana a month earlier than the constitutional amendment goes up for a vote.

Saunders' bill, named after a woman with ALS who says medical marijuana relieves her suffering, also leaves the issue of where medical marijuana could be sold up to local governments.

"So if Orange County Commissioners decided that it made sense to make sure our tourist community had access to medical marijuana -- because some are sick enough that they need it -- maybe they'll decide I-Drive is the right spot for it," Saunders said. "Or they may decide that it's not at all right for our tourist economy and it should only be over in Medical City."

So far Orange County hasn't taken steps to regulate where medical marijuana could be sold. The county told Local 6 it was simply too early to really have an official stance. But Cocoa Beach has already voted to work on regulating it.

Cocoa Beach Commissioner Skip Williams has been leading the effort to get out in front of the proposed change in Florida law that many believe will pass.

"I personally have been in Venice Beach, California, and I don't think that's what we want in Cocoa Beach," Williams said. "They're trying to walk back a lot of that because they didn't have anything in place ahead of time. Other places in America who are doing medical marijuana are doing it right, and I want to make sure we're doing it right."

Visit Orlando and the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission all declined to comment about how medical marijuana tourism could impact the area economically. The International Drive Chamber of Commerce never returned our calls.

Copyright 2014 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

The views expressed are not those of clickorlando.com, WKMG or its affiliated companies. This is a community moderated forum (Please note the 'Flag' button). By posting your comments you agree to accept our Terms Of service